1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a protector screen which is installable over an image display such as a CRT (cathode ray tube), LCD (liquid crystal display), rear projection screen or other type of image display surface.
2. Description of the Related Art
Projection televisions are commonly fitted with a protector screen attached over the projection screen for protecting the imaging surface as well as for enhancing image contrast. Such a conventional type of projector screen as installed over a projection television screen in shown in FIG. 12.
As seen in FIG. 12, the projection television has a case 1 with a substantially open front face. A screen 3 is installed over the front opening of the case 1. The screen 3 is mounted via a screen frame 4 which includes a rectangular screen edge cover 4b having fastening material 20 provided on upper, lower, left and right sides of the screen cover 4b.
A protector screen 10 is utilized which is formed as a flat transparent panel which may be tinted, polarized, or the like. At peripheral edges of a rear surface of the protector screen 10, a fastening material 21 is provided corresponding to the fastening material 20 on the front surface of the screen edge cover 4b of the screen frame 4.
The fastening materials 20, 21 as utilized in such conventional arrangements may be comprised of paired elongate strips of mutally adhesive material which easily attached and detached from one another (i.e. Velcro (.TM.), Luteflocking hook arrangements, etc.). That is, each strip of fastening material 20 affixed to the front edge surfaces of the screen frame 4 is matched with a corresponding strip of fastening material 21 provided on the peripheral edges of the inner surface of the proctector screen 10. Appropriate mounting of the protector screen 10 is achieved when the fastening material strips 21 of the protector screen 10 are positionally aligned with the fastening material strips of the screen frame 4 and engaged therewith. Thus, such a screen protector may 10 be easily installed on an image display device such as a projection television.
Such conventional screen protection arrangements for image display devices have been proposed for example, in Japanese Patent Application First Publication No. 05-023095 filed on Feb. 12, 1993 and commonly assigned to the assignee of the present invention (corresponding U.S. application still pending). In addition, another such screen protector arrangement has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,090.
A distinguishing feature of such conventional screen protector arrangements as noted above is that the flat panel screen protector is detachably installed on an outer surface of an edge covering portion of a frame of the image display screen. However, the degree of ease and reliability by which installation and/or detachment of the screen protector portion may be effected relies heavily on the matched strips of fastening material 20, 21. Thus, for some users, the utility of such a fastening arrangement is compromised due to drawbacks associated with the fastening means.
For example, problems which are often inherent in such paired fastening materials may include; difficulty of separation, adherence of dust, lint or airborne particles thereto, and there is also the possibility that the strips of fastening material themselves may peel or become dislodged from the surfaces to which they are attached.
It must also be considered that a screen protector which attaches directly to a front surface of a screen frame or edge cover may be temporarily removed by the user from time to time in the course of normal use (i.e. cleaning, etc.). Given this situation another drawback arises in that such conventional screen protection arrangements do not provide means for assuring precise realignment of the screen protector when reattached. Thus the user must reattach the screen protector `by eye`, that is, the strips of fastening material on the screen protector must be visually aligned with those of the screen frame to assure suitable positioning of the screen protector. A manual operation such as this can be quite troublesome physically for some users. For example, even if the screen protector has been adequately reattached from a functional standpoint, achieving a desirable positioning thereof which is symmetrical in relation to the edges of the screen frame on which the protector is mounted, cannot be consistently assured. Thus some may consider that the overall esthetic appearance of the image display device itself has become flawed and/or `unfinished` looking.
Further, a conventional screen protector arrangement must be manufactured and assembled with regard to the particular make and/or mode of the image display device for which it is intended. Thus the overall costs and laborer for providing such arrangements becomes relatively high.
Accordingly, it has been required to provide an image display device with means for protecting a screen thereof, i.e. a screen protector for an image display device such as projection televisions etc., which can be easily attached and removed with consistent positioning and attractive appearance.
Further, it is desirable to provide a versatile protector screen arrangement which, for example, may be easily utilized over a range of various types and models of image display device without modification.